LET’S TALK

As we celebrate International Women’s Day in a little over a week, Anita J talks to a range of professionals, both men and women, to find out if men need to get an identity makeover

We spoke to a range of professionals, both men and women, to find out if men need to get an identity makeover.

The idea that men and women are expected to be different has existed since time immemorial. Gender stereotypes have, in, fact defined the way society behaves and thinks, and the idea that a man is the ‘stronger’ gender and women the ‘weaker’ one, has been accepted and passed on from generation to generation in several cultures.

Today, however, things are changing. If on the one hand men have suddenly become softer, more sensitive and more ‘real’, women on the other hand are becoming assertive, standing up for their rights, ensuring their voices are being heard, and determined to be seen.

Colombian author Carlos Andres Gomez puts this in perspective. ‘We’re living in a time where, more than ever before, the gender binary is being dismantled and replaced with a more accurate representation of gender: A dynamic, evolving, continuum of ways of being that are forever in motion,’ he says.

The rising power of women, and prominent feminist voices, are opening up a lot of space and permission for men to explore and figure out who they really are, says the author who was in Dubai recently for the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature.

‘For example, as a kid, I never would have imagined that my being emotional, creative, collaborative and nurturing as a grown man would be the vital tools that enabled me to thrive personally and professionally. More than that, I never would have imagined that many of those roles I saw my mother and father taking on in my home growing up would be completely rearranged and swapped in my own home as a father and a husband.’

So, what brought about this shift? How is it playing out? Is there a male makeover happening?

For the author who is known for his memoir Man Up: Reimagining Modern Manhood, the biggest factor in his personal journey towards doing that work had to

I make it a habit to question and challenge what I’ve been taught and try to move through the world with a mindfulness and intention CARLOS ANDRES GOMEZ AUTHOR

do with building up emotional literacy after a number of years as a teenager where he ‘trained myself to be stoic and numb. So, maybe, it’s not a “male makeover” as much as a critical and courageous excavation of self.’

This courageous ‘self-excavation’ seems to have brought on the realisation that gender stereotypes can actually cause more harm than good.

Indian expat Priya Sarma seconds that. ‘There has been a growing realisation that the advertising and marketing conceptualisation of genders today seems to be one dimensional given that all people – men or women – are multi-dimensional.’ The senior sustainability manager at Unilever Mena quotes an Ipsos study that shows that more than 7 in 10 men and women globally say most advertising does not reflect the world around them.

That’s not all. ‘Three in five (63 per cent) women don’t see themselves represented in most advertising,’ she adds.

A majority of the people surveyed in the Ipsos study felt advertisers need to do more to eliminate traditional or oldfashioned gender roles in their ads. ‘Merely reinforcing stereotypes is unhealthy for society,’ says Priya.

Carlos would agree. He cites studies that have shown how gender stereotypes are extremely harmful for the development of healthy people. ‘Sure, there may be dimensions or characteristics of a stereotype that happen to align with a person’s innate self. But, more typically, it prescribes a version of being that is often far-removed from the genuine and organic textures of who a person really is at their core,’ he says.

Moving out from the self, the change in gender paradigms could sometimes depend on society, geography and culture, says Anand Kumar. The managing director of Abra Visual Merchandising and Store Design, a brand activation firm, believes that while there is a definite shift in gender identities, the intensity of the shift depends on the part of the world you hail from.

‘In the west there is a much stronger case and shift in gender equality, whereas in most of Middle East and Asia, men still hold on to the traditional “stronger” image,’ he says, admitting that while there is a shift in the gender balance happening here as well, ‘it seems to be happening a lot slower’. He points to cultural factors that ‘continue to support men taking the lead in running a family and being the breadwinner’.

Anand, who works in the shop-fitting industry, which has a strong accent on visual displays, says the shift has been quite slow in the sector he works in. Traditional trades like carpentry, painting, electrical work are still dominated by men in most

Merely reinforcing stereotypes is unhealthy for society PRIYA SARMA CORPORATE PROFESSIONAL While I do not believe feminism has subdued men’s voices, it has certainly made men more sensitive to the needs and expectations of the opposite sex ANAND KUMAR ENTREPRENEUR